Will Indonesia relocate its capital to Borneo island?

Right after the recent presidential election Indonesia's incumbent president Joko Widodo made a major announcement, promising to move country's overpopulated capital to another island.

The move, supposedly called to affirm Widodos yet unofficial victory, due to be finalized in the end of May, comes as a long-awaited relief for Indonesia's extremely crowded island of Java, which is now home to nearly 60 per cent of the country's population.

“The president chose to relocate the capital city to outside of Java, an important decision,” Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. “We want to think in a visionary way for the progress of this country and moving the capital requires thorough and detailed preparation,” he said.

The current capital, Jakarta, is home to more than 10 million people, but around three times that many people live in the surrounding towns adding to the area’s severe congestion.

One of the contenders for the new capital city is Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, state news agency Antara reported this year.